You rocked my world the other day. Read the full post.
Oct 8
2009
04:06 PM ET
'Transformers' or 'Titanic': Why do you go to the movies?
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Never thought about in the terms you described but it makes sense and might explain why I don’t go to the theatre much anymore but watch a lot of movies at home. The quality of home viewing has improved tremendously with big screens, surround sound and blu-ray. I actually love watching movies at home.
I actually did enjoy seeing Twilight in the movie theatre with my daughter and all the teenage girls yelling whenever Edward appeared on screen. I prefer to see most movies at home though
Lisa, the fact you find this incredible is a testament to the way you review. You are out of touch with what masses want. Watching movies is a job to you, and you want more. We aren’t always looking for more. We’re looking to get value!
It’s so much better to get wrapped up in an epic on the big screen than it is on the little screen! Counterpoint is, Sex in the City is Sex in the City whether it’s on the big screen or the small screen! You get the same enjoyment out of that either way! People go to the theater to be wowed. Titanic wowed people! It was a period piece with sets and costumes that took you to another time! Great big screen experience, weeping and all! Watching modern women shop and gossip, not so much.
And then there’s the economics. People are asking themselves, is $10 to $12 what I want to spend for an hour and a half? in 1989 I spent $5 for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and went out afterward and spent $4.99 on an entree. Now some metropolitan theaters are charging $12 for a flick, and I can go to a similar late night eating venue and get an entree for $7.99. Alternately, I can stay at home, Pop in a movie, invite friends over for the “Group experience” and eat for a few dollars. This is a no brainer.
The point I’m making isn’t whether I learned anything from the big screen movie or not, I’m there to be entertained in a BIG SCREEN way! So entertain me! Meanwhile, I’ll look at Discovery channel for a documentary, or plug in a DVD for a comedy/ rom com. I look for what will bring me the biggest bang without feeling I wasted my hard earned money, for the particular venue.
I always try to see big blockbuster type movies I care about on the big screen. Sometimes it’s the only time I go to the movies all year. Titanic, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars, Harry Potter films, Superman Returns… If I’m excited for a film and I know that effects are a big part of it – I will feel like I’m cheating myself if I don’t see it on the big screen. But right now it basically has to be an event movie to get me to a theater. I’d rather just wait for anything less.
The last movie I went to a theatre for was Judge Dred. The sound was so loud, then soft, then deafening, that I held my ears shut for most of the movie. Vowed not to go back. Hearing matters more to me than entertainment.I switched to VHS and now DVD and have noticed this trend continues on actioners. I prefer to watch all movies at home, since I can adjust the volume to suit me, and go back when required to get whatever somebody mumbles. Oscar should get rid of the Sound category, since the filmakers have all gone deaf from too much noise.
Lisa, I admit that your point has merit. I watched the Wayans in I think it was called “Little Man.” The theater was full and everybody was laughing at each other laughing at the screen. It was a great shared experience if not a great movie. But I enjoy a good movie first at the theater. It doesn’t have to be loud, but “Blair Witch Project” would not have been the same watching it at home the first time. Neither would “Unbreakable.” There is something about the theater experience, lone or with people that no TV experience can equal. And there was no way I was going to spend $10 on “Transformers 2″ when the first one had been so awful So I didn’t see it. And I won’t ever. Take “Con Air” with Nick Cage. It’s loud and has lots of explosions but is awful whether you see it at the theater or on Sunday afternoon. I live in a hick town so we don’t get movies like “Milk.” But you can be assured that I would have watched it at the theater because there is something different and impressive about watching a GOOD movie at the theater before you see it on cable or dish.
I would had liked if TITANIC was on the big screen. ITs a great movie. And it is my favorite. Even though it made alot of money.
As a sidenote, I just wanted to point out that I saw Titanic a total of seven times in theaters because I was that impressed. I was also 8. [and didn't have a crush on Leo, for the record...although times have changed.]
I hate crying in public. The last thing I want to do is go to a movie that I think might make me tear up. Even if others are crying around me, I get self conscious of my eyes even welling up, and that pulls me completely out of a movie. I can handle “Up” levels of sad sweetness, but anything more than that is a rental.
And I feel like I completely lost out on the Transformers phenomena because I didn’t get a chance to see it in theaters. All my friends love it, and when my ex went to watch it with me one evening, I fell asleep – and I never fall asleep at movies. In a theater, I would’ve been “Oooh” ing and chuckling and wooing along with everyone else.
Unless you see those kind of movies in the theater, it’s just not worth seeing period. It’s like watching fireworks on t.v. Yes, it’s pretty, but do you really care? Not so much.
Oh, and I didn’t mention it in my last post, but a scary movie is completely different at home. If I’m at all interested in a scary movie, I need to see it at a theater. I don’t get scared even in that setting, but there’s a little buzz of excitement listening to everyone else gasp.
One of the strangest movie going experiences I ever had was at a showing of Saving Private Ryan. When the movie ended everyone was so in awe or shock that the theater was silent for five minutes and no one moved a muscle. We all just sat there. Thinking about it today still gives me goosebumps.
It’s funny I found this post after watching a rerun of “Men in Black” on TV yesterday, a Hollywood blockbuster if there ever was any. Extra funny because a quote feels particularly relevant to the explanation for the group experience of seeing a movie in theaters: “The person is smart; people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals.”
I’ve been thoroughly impressed by summer blockbusters like the Batman movies, Spider Man, District 9, Pirates of the Caribbean, the first few X-Men movies, The Lord of the Rings, or the Matrix. Many of them at least attempted to present some attempt at being thought provoking. Maybe others would excuse explosion movies for being dumb. I didn’t really mind the first Transformers film, but this year, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was the last straw. If your college loan alone every month was $650, you’d be outraged that your $10.50 went to waste too. Some might say it’s not fair for me to hold a film like Wolverine to the standards of, say, The Dark Knight. But it’s impossible for me not to after years of seeing summer blockbusters that were actually worth the money.
In contrast, for the last few months, most of the movies I’ve seen were from DVDs I’ve bought on things like blogger recommendations and genuine word of mouth. I haven’t made a single purchase that I’ve regretted. The real loss is that I’ve lost the group experience. People don’t exactly get together at a neighbor’s house just to watch a movie anymore, no matter how good you insist it is.
Call me crazy, but I was 15 when I saw Titanic about 14 times while it was in theaters. That movie needed by seen on the biggest screen. So, I figured why not just go wild and see it as many times as I can while it’s in theaters. But, smaller films like The Hurt Locker or even Green Zone, they really don’t feel like cinematic material. They should almost be straight to video movies.
Movies like Titanic, Avatar, LOTR, etc, they can only be fully appreciated on the big screen in my opinion.